“And live at the rate of pretty near two hundred thousand dollars a year?” Croyden laughed. “Could you?”
“I think I could, if I loved the girl.”
“And suffer in your self-respect forever after?”
“There is where we differ. You’re inclined to be hyper-critical. If you play your part, you won’t lose your self-respect.”
“It is a trifle difficult to do—to play my part, when all the world is saying, ‘he married her for her money,’ and shows me scant regard in consequence.”
“Why the devil need you care what the world says!”
“I don’t!”
“What?” Macloud exclaimed.
“I don’t—the world may go hang. But the question is, how long can the man retain the woman’s esteem, with such a handicap.”